Leadership and Communication Management in Bangladesh: “Without knowledge of good communication, a leader cannot be a good leader”

With the theme “Leadership in Challenging Times” University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB) launched the Masters in Social Science (MSS) program under the Media Studies and Journalism (MSJ) department in the Communication Management and Leadership Conference in June at Hotel Washington, Gulshan.

Mr. Professor Imran Rahman, Vice Chancellor of ULAB inaugurated the event and launched the MSS program stressing the importance of communication. Expressing the Core Values of ULAB he said that this communication program will produce leaders of professions in the field of communication to fulfill the growing demand for leaders in the communication and media sectors of Bangladesh.

Prof. Brian Shoesmith spoke of the major changes he had seen from the beginning of his first visit to Bangladesh until now. He shared how the MSJ department started its journey with 20 students and now has more than 350. He highlighted how job sectors are increasing in the media industries of Bangladesh with the previous, current and forthcoming television channels, FM Radio, and Newspapers.

Mr. Aftab-Ul-Alam President, American Chamber of Commerce, described how the global business industry uses communication as the most important area of leadership skills. He said that without knowledge of communication a leader cannot be consider a good leader. He stressed how important it is for a person to understand how signs, languages, and communication barriers vary from country to country and that we must learn about the culture of any country to achieve successful and effective outcomes.

Debasish Deb, Country Manager of Coca-Cola Far East Ltd looked at how communication has helped Coca-Cola in Bangladesh to lead business forward. He talked about communication tools and the steps taken in 2004 and in 2006 for the crisis management situation in India. He shared his experiences while working with Coca-Cola with a focus on reputation. He said a good product with great reputation can sustain in a long run but a great product with extremely bad reputation cannot go that far.

He also described how communication methods and tools are used differently by Coca-Cola in various regions of the world while understanding the different perceptions and lifestyles of the target audiences.

Jude W. Genilo looked at the history of media and journalism institutes around Bangladesh sharing some of the unique features of ULAB MSJ department where the students will learn and experience to use the 3H - Heart, Hand and Head all together.